Friday, 26 January 2018

Let's Talk Babies: When Things Don't Go To Plan

In my last post, I spoke about how my husband and I started trying for a baby three years ago. And here we are, three years later, and still no baby. So, what happened? When we decided to start trying, we were aware there could be problems conceiving. I had been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome some five/six years ago and, although it's not at all impossible for people with PCOS to become pregnant, it can be more difficult. We made the decision to start trying for a baby a year, or two, earlier than we might have otherwise, as we knew we were unlikely to conceive straight away. But when two years had passed and we still hadn't got pregnant? We decided it was time to visit the GP. It's advised that a young, otherwise healthy couple should visit their GP after a year of trying to conceive if they're still not pregnant. I put it off because, well, I was scared. All I've ever wanted in life is to have two, or three, children of our own. I was terrified the GP would tell us we weren't able to conceive, and my dreams would be dashed. But eventually, you have to face your fears. So I bit the bullet and went to visit our GP.Of course, the first thing the doctor told me is that I'm overweight and need to lose some weight. Whilst I don't dispute that losing some weight would do me, and my hormones, a lot of good, I'd like to point out that many bigger women go on to conceive and carry a healthy baby to term. I'm still sure that being overweight isn't the big problem here. And the main reason I'm still working on weight loss, despite believing it's not the problem here, is because the NHS won't provide us with IVF (if it comes to that) with my BMI as it currently is. So, what did our GP do when we told her we were having trouble conceiving? She asked a lot of intimate questions; about my cycle, our sex life, and so on. I had to have blood test after blood test; to see if I was ovulating, and check my hormone levels. It proved impossible, though, to gauge whether I was ovulating or not as the blood test needs to be taken so many days before your next period. And as I never know when my period's going to arrive? Like I said, impossible! My husband, much to his disgust, had to give a sperm sample. Thankfully, his results have come back normal. He's not the problem, I am. We're now at a point where our GP can't do anything else for us. So she's referred us to a fertility specialist on the NHS, and told us we can expect lots more tests; bloods, samples, ultrasounds and internal exams. But that was four months ago, and we're still waiting for communication from the hospital about our first appointment. So, we're looking at going private. Thanks to Hannah Gale, I now know you can go private for a fertility MOT, and I've found a local hospital that offer these. Aside from being quicker, all the tests, and prognosis, are delivered in a day. As opposed to it taking months to complete all the tests and get a prognosis on the NHS. Once we have the results, we can go back to the NHS for treatment, or continue privately; the choice is ours. So, that's where we're at right now. In the next post in this series, I'll be talking about our plans for a family if it turns out we can't conceive. And, of course, I'll update you when we finally have our appointment!

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Oh Aimee <3 Here's hoping for some good news asap for you. The whole weight thing is such a load of rubbish too. What an awful thing to try and pin this on when someone is already going through this? They literally try to pass everything off as being down to your weight. :/

Thank you, Danielle. The weight thing really frustrates me - I've got friends who are a lot bigger than me and who had no trouble conceiving! The NHS seem intent on pinning all of my problems on weight though, which is very frustrating! xx

I hope you find out whats up soon lovely! There's nothing worse than trying for so long to only be greeted with one line. If you ever need to talk about it, please drop me a message. Hopefully you get some joy before your appointment.

All About Me!

I'm Aimee, 27 years old, and still waiting for my Hogwarts acceptance letter. I dream of turning my house into a library; one bookshelf at a time. If not found with nose in a book, please provide a book.